Last July 19, 2011, several newspaper and independent comic artists and myself (representing webcomics) appeared in ABS-CBN's morning show Umagang Kay Ganda.  The show wished to feature local comics (known as komiks) which have been undergoing a dramatic resurgence lately.

    I met up with Lyndon Gregorio, Ariel Atienza, Michael David, and Melvin Calingo at an astoundingly early hour in a McDonald's and then headed together for the ABS-CBN studios.  There, we were directed to a series of long tables where we could exhibit our books and those of other Filipino artists.  Behind our tables were a bunch of mannequins wearing various Darna costumes and several comic-book themed movie posters.  We also met up with Andrew Villar, Amos Villar, and Rommel Estanislao.


Setting up our tables


(L to R) Lyndon Gregorio, Ariel Atienza, Michael David, Melvin Calingo, and Andrew Villar
Photo by Rommel Estanislao


(Front to back) Amos Villar, Rommel Estanislao, Lyndon Gregorio, Ariel Atienza, Michael David, and Melvin Calingo


The wait... that's me on the leftmost end.
Photo by Rommel Estanislao

    We were asked to appear on the show to showcase different aspects of Filipino komiks.  As the webcomic representative, I was requested to bring the tools I needed to produce such material.  So, I had a laptop, a scanner, and my drawing tools present!  We were also asked to actually produce drawings and comics as a demonstration, so I used the time to do the next Callous comic strip.


Webcomic artist at work.


My POV. That's the show's indoor set past the windows.



ABS-CBN gave us coffee and breakfast.  I'm here with my usual seatmates, Andrew and Amos Villar.


In case you forgot what I do...


The sun's out! And we're all "working"...


Yeah! Free pearl shakes!

    We were later informed that due to time constraints, we would no longer be separately interviewed but we would still be featured as a group on camera.  We were all disappointed, of course, but we were having fun nonetheless.


A screenshot from the actual broadcast.

    In the end, after several long hours of waiting for a few seconds of screen time, we all headed back to our lives in good spirits.  Thanks, ABS-CBN!


With the show's hosts!
Photo from Rommel Estanislao